THE PRESIDENT: Thanks for coming. It's an honor for me to be here with
Senator Bob Dole, and Secretary Donna Shalala, Secretary Jim Nicholson,
and Deputy Secretary Gordon England. I appreciate the opportunity to
come to a building full of compassion, a place of expertise, where
people are dedicating their time and efforts to help those on active
duty and those who have served before.

Any time there is any doubt in anybody's mind that our veterans are not
getting excellent care, then we in government have a duty to deal with
those doubts. I have asked Secretary Gates and Secretary Nicholson to
review their respective departments and the interface of their
departments -- the Defense Department and the Veterans Department -- to
make sure that any doubt as to whether or not a veteran, or one on
active duty, gets the best care, does so.

I also asked Senator Dole and Secretary Shalala to lead a non-partisan,
independent commission to identify areas where we can do better, and
more importantly, come up with solutions as to how to deal with those
problems. The commissioners conducted a very serious and lengthy review
of our military and veterans health care systems, and they submitted
recommendations to me at the end of July. After Senator Dole and
Secretary Shalala briefed me on their recommendations, I then directed
Secretaries Gates and Nicholson to study and more importantly implement
the recommendations, so we can ensure our severely wounded
servicemembers and their families that they will receive the best
possible care.

We've got great health care for our wounded. We just want to make sure
that the system is seamless and that the families are treated with the
utmost of care during these difficult moments. Secretaries Gates and
Nicholson and their departments are working hard to make sure their
agencies talk to each other and collaborate. Equally importantly,
they're looking at the recommendations that the Dole-Shalala commission
put forward, and they're implementing them. In other words, the
commission did really good work. The commission's recommendations are
solid, and therefore, to the extent that we can move without
congressional law, we will do so. And not only will we do so, we will
keep the commissioners abreast of the progress we are making.

Secondly, we want to work with Congress. When they come back in
September, we want to work with Congress to pass that which is necessary
to make sure that the Dole-Shalala commission recommendations are fully
implemented. In other words, there are some aspects of the commission
recommendations that require congressional approval. We believe it's
important for Congress to listen to the commission. We believe the
recommendations make a lot of sense, and we would ask for the Congress
to pass those recommendations as quickly as possible, so I can sign them
into law.

There's an amazing -- there's a lot of amazing things taking place here
in this facility. For example, we saw information technology, health
care records that are being passed seamlessly from the Department of
Defense to the VA, to make sure that the care providers here have got
up-to-date access for each patient. We saw volunteers helping the
wounded learn to regain balance and confidence through kayaking
programs. I saw physical therapists -- I heard physical therapists talk
about their patients with the kind of care and compassion that obviously
requires a big heart and strong commitment.

The commitment of this government is this: Anybody who is sent into
harm's way deserves the best possible care. We're dedicated to this
goal. If we find problems, we'll solve the problems. For those who are
providing the care, we thank you. For the soldiers who are receiving
the care, we owe you the best. And for the families who stand by them,
we thank you for your patience.